PUBLICATION

Short-term polystyrene nanoplastic exposure alters zebrafish male and female germline and reproductive outcomes, unveiling pollutant-impacted molecular pathways

Authors
Pujol, G., Marín-Gual, L., González-Rodelas, L., Álvarez-González, L., Chauvigné, F., Cerdà, J., Teles, M., Roher, N., Ruiz-Herrera, A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-241119-8
Date
2024
Source
Journal of hazardous materials   481: 136529136529 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Cerdà, Joan
Keywords
Fertility, Germ cells, Nanoplastics, Testis, Zebrafish
Datasets
GEO:GSE279916
MeSH Terms
  • Oocytes/drug effects
  • Female
  • Nanoparticles/toxicity
  • Microplastics/toxicity
  • Polystyrenes*/toxicity
  • Spermatozoa*/drug effects
  • Testis*/drug effects
  • Male
  • Reproduction*/drug effects
  • Zebrafish*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical*/toxicity
  • Animals
PubMed
39556913 Full text @ J. Hazard. Mater.
Abstract
Nanoplastics pollution is a rising environmental concern whose impacts on biodiversity and human health are far from being understood. This is particularly salient in aquatic ecosystems, where the majority of species depend on external fertilization for reproduction. Here we evaluated the effects of a short-term exposure to engineered polystyrene nanoplastics (NPs) in the zebrafish germline to further explore their impact on reproduction. To this end, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to 5 mg/L of 45 nm polystyrene (PS)-NPs via water for 96 h. We show that, in males, nanoplastics induced testicular histological alterations with abnormal sperm clustering and chromatin compaction, resulting in viable spermatozoa but with reduced motility. Moreover, in females we observed an alteration in oocyte stages frequencies during oogenesis, possibly reflecting alterations in oocyte growth. RNA-sequencing analysis in male testis links nanoplastic induced alterations in the expression of genes involved in chromatin structure, meiosis and DNA double-strand break formation and repair progression, and gametes recognition. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that the observed effects in males were directly due to nanoplastics penetrating the testicular barrier and being internalized within germline cells. Overall, our results demonstrate that acute exposure to NPs can compromise reproductive fitness, underscoring the environmental and health impacts of NPs pollution.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping